Shi Feiyang, though in seclusion, was refining Mana, not practicing Effort.

If he had been cultivating Alchemy Dao, refining form, or nourishing his Nascent Soul, he would need to immerse his mind and soul entirely without any disturbances. Unaware of the outside world, a sudden awakening could severely damage his Primordial Qi.

However, cultivating the He Sha Book involved continuously absorbing the Five Elements Essence Qi from the outside world into his body, merging it with his Five Internal Organs Primordial Qi, and refining them into one. The external Five Elements transform into the internal Five Elements, and these internal ones then combine again with the external, thus mutually enhancing his Effort.

This was a slow and gradual process, and as long as he wished, he could still be aware of the external situation—the only difference was whether he chose to intervene or not.

When the white deer, with Black Dog Nails pinned on its back, rapidly ran towards Big Bear Ridge, it alarmed his Divine Sense. He inspected from afar and realized that it was not a real deer, but a human transformed into one.

In the entire Shushan World, apart from those who kill humans and trap their souls into beasts, only Lin Rui of Ailao Mountain's Heavenly Gate, conveniently located not far away, could directly turn humans into animals.

He silently calculated a divination and immediately knew Lin Rui's intentions.

First, this incident could serve as a lesson for all his disciples, especially Ganoderma Immortal, teaching them how to seek good fortune and avoid disaster.

Second, he was very interested in the technique used by the Heavenly Gate Divine Monarch to transform humans into animals.

Third, many innocent people captured and transformed into animals by the Demon Path lay hidden inside the dungeon; he could rescue them through this cause and effect, fulfilling a difficult escape from tribulation.

Therefore, he made no move but allowed the white deer to abduct Ganoderma Immortal. His disciples were quick-witted and soon discovered and followed the trail.

He calculated that Lin Rui's Daoist power was far from enough to withstand Lin Han and Shi Sheng, mainly because the Nanming Leaving Fire Sword, Xuan Guang Ruler, and Heavenly Heart Ring he possessed were completely restrained by Lin Rui's Evil Skill, Demon Skill, and Magical Treasures. If he arrived too late, Lin Rui would have been killed by the two…

Moreover, Wu Longzi and Xiong Man were also on their way. Even Ganoderma Immortal and Stone Rhinoceros were not to be trifled with. Once a massacre began, innocents could potentially be harmed.

From the moment Ganoderma Immortal was abducted, he began to withdraw his power. Every eighty-one days, he went into seclusion; this time hadn't fully passed, and the Five Elements Essence Qi was not fully refined and incorporated into his body resulting in an abandoned cultivation halfway through.

But he had already refined a great amount of the Five Elements Essence Qi—equivalent to what others would achieve in twelve years of hard cultivation—and temporarily sealed it inside a gourd before quickly heading towards Wulong Peak.

Upon arriving, he saw the miserable state of the Heavenly Gate Divine Monarch…

Lin Rui's Flying Sword had been destroyed by the Taibai Split Light Sword, his Atu Hook by the Nanming Leaving Fire Sword, his Blood Flame Needle and Yin Spirit Banner had been broken by Lin Han using the Xuan Guang Ruler, and the Luxury Pearl was also forcefully seized by the Xuan Guang Ruler.

His physical body had been chopped into many segments and lay scattered on the hillside, blood everywhere.

His nine Demon Heads were captured by Shi Sheng using the Heavenly Heart Ring; two heart-shaped light circles, one blazing with flames, the other emitting cold light, trapped the nine demons inside. As the two circles merged, the demons shrieked in agonizing pain, resembling specimens with only pale red lights stamped inside, still continuing to melt...

Had Shi Feiyang arrived a few minutes later, these Demon Heads would have been completely obliterated.

Reaching into the air, he pulled the Heavenly Heart Ring towards him, separating the Yin and Yang light circles and retrieved the nine Demon Heads.

Demon Heads remain Demon Heads, surviving desperate situations but showing no gratitude; they immediately lunged at Shi Feiyang, attempting to suck his Essence Blood, devour his Divine Soul, and seize his body!

Shi Feiyang immediately used the Heavenly Secret Demon Technique to imprison them, then tossed the Heavenly Heart Ring to Shi Sheng.

"Master!" Shi Sheng and Lin Han greeted him.

Seeing Lin Rui, now just a naked red figure—his Primordial Spirit without the ability to solidify a physical body, had taken on human form through the demon magic taught by Tie Shu by using blood vitality, continuously emitting Demon Fire, attempting to escape using the Blood Dripping Clone technique. However, he was encircled by a myriad of light circles in the center, with Lin Han about to annihilate him completely.

Shi Feiyang reached out again, forcibly taking away his Primordial Spirit and sealing it, then couldn't spare time to speak further with the two and hurriedly flew into the cave.

Lin Rui had over a dozen disciples—by now, they were all slaughtered.

Many animals, including monkeys, bears, wolves, deer, wild boars, and tigers, totaling over fifty, all trembled and knelt on the ground, speaking human language, crying loudly, "Immortal, spare our lives! We are children of good families, captured by the Demon Path, forced into servitude... We implore the Immortal to show mercy and free us from this suffering!"

Wu Longzi normally wouldn't care whether they were humans or demons; in the past, when Cold Centipede ruled the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, according to his temperament, he would have swallowed all of them to avoid trouble.

But now, according to the laws set by Shi Feiyang, no matter the creature, as long as it is sentient, intelligent, and adheres to morals, it shouldn't be killed arbitrarily. Since they claimed to be oppressed, he restrained himself and left them to Xiong Man.

It had been a long time since he last ate humans; honestly, humans didn't taste good, fish were much more delicious…

Just now, Wu Longzi had torn apart two of Lin Rui's disciples and thrown them on the ground. Walking over, he picked up their Flying Swords and snapped them easily, finding their quality far inferior to those produced by the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain.

However, while he could restrain himself, Stone Rhinoceros could not.

Shi Xi usually had the best relationship with Ganoderma Immortal. In his eyes, Ganoderma Immortal was like a plant spirit; fragile in constitution and devoured by Demon Beasts as if it were some kind of fruit, both sweet and fragrant. He deeply resented the White Deer for consuming Ganoderma Immortal and pursued it, releasing the Thunder Sound Cone to kill it.

The White Deer had no significant Dao Level; it was forced by Lin Rui to steal Ganoderma Immortal, using methods entirely provided by the Demon Banner lent to him by Lin Rui. Once the Demon Banner was taken away, it was hardly stronger than an ordinary deer. If hit by the Thunder Sound Cone, it would undoubtedly die. Terrified, the White Deer kept running, trying to hide among herds of animals.

When Shi Feiyang arrived, Shi Xi was launching the Thunder Sound Cone, locking onto the White Deer, aiming to blast it away without hesitation, determined to kill it.

Wu Longzi watched with amusement from the side. Shi Xi was Shi Feiyang's beloved pet, a rare creature that might not appear for thousands of years. Killing a few humans or Demon Beasts didn't matter much to him, he reasoned.

Xiong Manniang also found the White Deer detestable and therefore, didn't interfere much, only using sword light to protect the nearby animals.

This is why her sword light changed the direction of the Thunder Sound Cone midway, giving the White Deer a little time.

After Shi Feiyang entered the cave, he directly seized the Thunder Sound Cone, telling Shi Xi, "Enough; leave the rest to me!"

Shi Xi stopped when he saw him, swallowing the Thunder Sound Cone back into his stomach, his eyes shining with ferocity as he stared at the White Deer before turning to search for Ganoderma Immortal.

Shi Feiyang first removed the Evil Skill from Ganoderma Immortal. Ganoderma Immortal was still weak, clinging to Shi Feiyang's arms, taking refuge pitifully in his embrace.

Shi Feiyang handed Ganoderma Immortal to Shi Sheng, asking him to take Ganoderma Immortal and Shi Xi back to Bitter Bamboo Temple for proper resettlement. He instructed Wu Longzi, the Great Demon, to use magic to bring the animals back to the temple to wait for further arrangements.

After these groups left, he ordered Lin Han and Xiong Manniang to clean up the battlefield. There was nothing of Lin Rui's apprentices' belongings that caught his interest.

The Flying Swords in the hands of Shi Feiyang's apprentices, except for special ones like Nanming Leaving Fire Sword and Three Yangs One Qi Sword, were of the best quality when obtained from the Golden Ship and after being reforged, reached the Golden Light Level.

Besides these, there were several batches forged over the years in Outer Heaven Divine Mountain and the inheritance left by the Qian Kang couple in the city that never sleeps.

Lin Rui's Soul Punishment Sword and Atu Hook were inferior to those produced by Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, and his apprentice's Flying Swords were even of lower quality. Lin Han could break them easily firsthand, the fragility audible with a snap.

Shi Feiyang had stayed behind because in some branch cave tunnels, Lin Rui had set up Arrays venerating Demon Banners, imprisoning many human Life Souls. He asked Lin Han and Xiong Manniang to break the prohibition and rescue these tortured ordinary souls.

Shi Feiyang had a vast collection of souls: ordinary people, cultivators, wronged spirits, malicious spirits, evil spirits, fierce ghosts, Demons, Divine Demons... He directly released those that could reincarnate, using spells to send them on their way. For those that couldn't be released immediately, depending on their type, some were kept in the Soul Suppressing Gourd, while others were imprisoned in Crystal Bottles, waiting for their evil energy to gradually dissipate before being sent off in batches.

Those who had transformed into Demons were mostly sent into the Heavenly Secret Demon God Lamp to evolve on their own. Once their malevolent energy decreased, they would be sent away. For those extremely wicked beyond salvation, they were forged into the Twelve Flower Evil God Gang.

The ones captured by Lin Rui were ordinary people, at most robust in their previous lives. After enduring a period of Soul Refinement, some had become bewildered and sunken, turning into entities like fierce ghosts; others still retained human emotions and thoughts. Shi Feiyang taught Lin Han and Xiong Manniang how to categorize and handle them.

Aside from these matters, Shi Feiyang stayed for another reason; he was waiting for someone.

Indeed, very soon, from the northwest direction, a streak of red smoke approached rapidly, still several tens of miles away when a voice thundered like a night owl's ominous cry: "Who dares to harm my Divine Demon? Answer quickly!"

Shi Feiyang turned and exited the cave, reaching the entrance just as the figure reached the clouds, a vague human form amidst black smoke.

He countered, "Is it Tie Shu from the Red Body Sect?"

It was indeed Tie Shu, Jiu Panpo's Red Body Sect was also a branch of the Demon Cult, existing in the east, south, and west regions of the Demon Cult for a thousand years. With qualifications and Mana surpassing those three sects' leaders and some connections with the Emei Sect, no one in the world, righteous or evil, would dare to provoke them lightly.

Tie Shu, as Jiu Panpo's senior disciple, was also notoriously aggressive.

Clouds churned above, and suddenly, not far in front of Shi Feiyang, a young girl appeared out of thin air, wrapped only in leaves, holding a hook and a sword, her hair loose and barefooted, mostly exposed, her face utterly pallid without a trace of blood, her eyes flickering with a strange green light, and a layer of black-red smoke swirling around her body, her entire demeanor extremely daunting.

She arrived furious, but after sizing up Shi Feiyang, her anger slightly subsided, and she demanded, "Are you the one who harmed my Divine Demon? Lin Rui isn't from my Red Body Sect; previously, he pleaded piteously to use the Nine Demons Avoiding Tribulation, and I lent it to him out of pity, also passing on some of our sect's Daoist Techniques. But, his life and death are of no concern to me, and I do not interfere with him. However, my Divine Demon's refined soul isn't easily destroyed. What method did you use to take it away? It's not a Magical Treasure. Looking at your aura, you are clearly a Mysterious Sect Righteous Sect Sword Immortal. Taking it would be harmful and useless to you. Better release it quickly and return it to me, or else I'll make sure you have no place to die, suffering immeasurable torments even as a ghost. Let's be clear upfront, so don't blame me for being ruthless later."

Shi Feiyang, smiling, said, "Who said Mysterious Sect Righteous Sect Sword Immortals can't refine or control demons?"

With a flick of his fingers, he released a stream of colorful smoke, from which appeared a Barbarian Monk.

Tie Shu, observing his casting, blurted out initially, "Twelve Flower Evil God Gang!"

Then exclaimed, "Chuandeng Monk!"

The Twelve Flower Evil God Gang was originally a secret Divine Skill of the Red Body Sect; Zhong Ang ran to ingratiate himself and flattered Jiu Panpo and Tie Shu for many years before he was taught, which surprised Tie Shu.

Following this, she recognized the Barbarian Monk—it was Chuandeng Monk, the former head of the Chuandeng Temple on the Dian Border, a well-known figure in the Western Demon Cult.

Seeing Chuandeng Monk, she immediately guessed who Shi Feiyang was, and once more scrutinized him from head to toe: "Are you that Demon Dragon who came from Outer Heaven Divine Mountain to stir trouble in Central Earth?"

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